


Love and Porta Potties

by angelsfalling16



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fair Rides, Fic Remix, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Marriage Proposal, POV Simon Snow, Shrek References, SnowBaz, Time Skips, porta potty mishaps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:40:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25555984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelsfalling16/pseuds/angelsfalling16
Summary: A series of events throughout Simon and Baz’s relationship that happen in porta potties, some of them good, some of them messy, and some of which they don’t speak of.
Relationships: Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow
Comments: 23
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A remix of [Caitybug's](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caitybug) [porta potty fic](https://caitybuglove23.tumblr.com/post/620400022202236928/ok-im-requesting-one-of-them-being-locked-in-a)
> 
> This started out as me just wanting to remix her original fic with some Shrek references, but it turned into me rewriting it as an American AU and expanding it in both directions.
> 
> This was a lot of fun to write, and I hope you like it, Caity!
> 
> Thanks so much to @amphipodgirl and @scone-lover on Tumblr for beta-reading!! <3

**Simon**

Baz and I have slowly been getting along better recently. It is just a little unfortunate that it took us until the end of high school to get to this point because it has actually been really nice.

In fact, it has been more than nice. I think I might be starting to like him. Like _really_ like him.

It hit me slowly at first, but the more I got to know him, the more I realized how much I like him. I think I might like him a lot. I just wish that I knew if he felt the same way.

Every once in a while, I get this feeling that he might like me too, and that feeling has been pretty constant today, especially as we talk and walk around with each other.

The fair is in town this weekend, so we decided to go with our friends as one last get together before we start college in the fall. It's the first time that Baz and I have hung out outside of school, and besides a little bit of awkwardness at the beginning, it has been a lot of fun. Even our friends have been getting along. Or at least, no one has insulted anybody else yet.

Dev and Niall have stuck pretty close together and not said much to the rest of us, but Penny has surprisingly had a lot to say to Baz. I never thought I'd see the day where those two would be friends, but they seem to have really hit it off.

It almost makes me jealous to see my best friend get along better than I am with the guy that I'm crushing on, but I know that there is nothing to worry about there. Plus, it’s nice that they get along well. I would hate for Penny to disapprove of someone that I like.

On the rides Dev and Niall pair up together, and Penny won't go on any of them, which has left Baz and me together. She says that they are all death machines that shouldn't be running when they were put up so quickly. I tried to tell her that they probably do safety checks and point out that people have been riding them all day without any accidents. Her response was “yet,” and that was that.

It has been surprisingly fun to do all of this with Baz. He seemed hesitant about the rides at first as well, but he has followed me into the line for each ride that I've decided to go on so far.

Right now, as the sun sits low in the sky, casting darkness on the fairgrounds, we are in line for the ferris wheel. It's a pretty mild ride compared to the rest, but I notice the way that Baz eyes the top, like he might be afraid of heights or something.

"Hey," I say quietly, bumping my elbow lightly against his side. "We don't have to go on this if you don't want to."

He looks over at me with a peculiar expression, like he's trying to read me, before looking back up at the ride. It's almost our turn to get on. I think the longest part of this whole thing is loading people on and off.

We shuffle forward a few more steps. He shakes his head, but I'm not sure if it's at me or the ride.

"Baz," I begin again, but then we're at the front of the line and being ushered into the little cart together.

He turns to me long enough to say, "I'm good, Snow." Then, he steps up into the ride, and I follow after.

We don't say anything as our cart is raised bit by bit while the rest are being filled. I drum my fingers against my leg with a sort of nervous anticipation. I wish that Baz would say something to tell me what he's thinking.

He has been oddly quiet, and I'm starting to feel like maybe I did something wrong. Did I upset him? Have I been viewing this whole thing the wrong way? Did he go on this ride because he felt like he had to? Is he here at the fair because he felt like he had to come? Am I just some bothersome gnat that he can't seem to get rid of? Does he want to be here at all?

I start to feel a little sick, and it isn’t because of all of the sugar or numerous fried items that I've eaten in the past hour. It isn’t because of the ride either. I need a distraction, but the only thing here is Baz. And while he is kind of the thing that I need a distraction from, he is also the best kind of distraction.

"Did you know that this is the first time that I've been to a fair?" I ask as I look out at all of the people walking around the booths and standing in line. It seems like I can see everything from up here.

"Really?" Baz asks softly.

I nod. "Yeah. Didn't exactly go to one when I was in the orphanages. And even in the nicer foster homes I stayed in for a while, they either didn't go or didn't invite me so that they wouldn’t have to spend money on me."

I'm rambling now and wondering if I should shut up, but I keep talking. It keeps my mind off of the other worries.

"I would always pass by the fairgrounds and see them setting up or the flashing lights on the rides in the evening, and it would seem like this whole other world that I would never be a part of. It was sort of beautiful and sad at the same time."

Baz is quiet for a long time, and I worry that I somehow managed to say the wrong thing. Was bringing up my past the wrong thing to do? He probably doesn’t care about any of this, and now I’m forcing him to have an awkward conversation with me. I definitely screwed this up. He’ll never want to talk to me again after this.

I’m just about to tell him to forget I said anything when he finally replies with, "How do you feel now that you're here?"

I think about that for a moment before I respond. How _do_ I feel? It’s been nice, but I feel like that might have more to do with the current company than with what I have been doing. Still, it definitely isn’t terrible.

"It's fun and all but it seems like I was making a big deal out of nothing. Like it’s not as special as I thought it was. But it's still a good experience, y'know?"

He nods. "Yeah, I think so. It's the feeling of being excluded from something without really knowing what you're missing out on. It's hard not to wonder about it."

"Yeah, exactly." 

He managed to put into words the thing that I've never quite managed to. He does that quite a bit. I'll struggle to explain something, and he'll know exactly what I’m talking about and doesn't make me feel bad about not being able to be clearer with my words.

I appreciate that more than I could possibly say.

I start to say something else, maybe something more about what I'm feeling, but then the ride lurches, and we start to move up to the top in a slow, revolving circle.

We ride in silence for a while before I notice that Baz has a death grip on the side of the ride, and he seems to be leaning as close to the middle as possible. His thigh is practically pressed up against mine, and even though we have been closer than this today, what with how much those other rides throw you into the person you’re riding with, I can feel my heart racing in my chest.

"Are you okay?" I ask him, forcing myself not to think about the way that I can smell his shampoo when he's this close.

He nods.

"You don't seem all that thrilled to be on this ride."

"I just feel like I could easily fall out the side. It's probably stupid because this ride is so calm compared to the others, but it doesn't seem as stable as the rest were." He shifts in the seat and our cart rocks harder than it should, and I actually hear him inhale. He really is afraid.

"Why did you come on this ride if you were that afraid?" I ask, not judging but genuinely curious.

He doesn't answer though because he's too focused on apparently trying to look anywhere but at me.

_Is it that awful for him to be around me?_

"Hey," I say softly but he just shakes his head. I place my hand on his shoulder and try again, even softer this time, "Hey, look at me. You're okay."

It takes him a moment, but he finally tears his eyes away from the ground far below and looks at me.

"Hey," I say again, offering a small smile.

"Hi," he replies.

"You're safe. I'm right here, and we aren't going to fall." The ride jolts again but then it slows to a stop. "See? The ride’s over. We'll be back on the ground soon enough and you'll be fine. Okay?"

He nods and starts to turn away but I place my hand on his cheek to turn his face back to mine.

"Keep your eyes on me. And _don't look down_."

He does as I say, and we sit there staring at each other in silence until it's our turn to get off the ride. There's a moment where I think I might lean forward and kiss him, but it passes too quickly for me to decide whether it's a terrible idea or not.

Baz is a little shaky and pale as we walk away from the ferris wheel, but he seems a little better now that his feet are firmly planted on the ground.

I want to say something to him, but I'm still trying to figure out what when Penny comes bounding over to us.

"What next?" she asks excitedly, as if she hasn't just been wandering around playing games or watching us ride the rides the entire time.

Baz looks to me, and I shrug. I feel like I'm still at the top of the ride, mere inches from him as we stare into each other's eyes like we're looking into each other's souls.

I want to go back to that moment to see if I was just imagining that look in his eyes or if there is some possibility that he might actually like me back. It's doubtful, but I have a bit of hope.

"Oh! Look what I won!" Penny holds up a Shrek plush, and I smile. She and I used to watch that movie all the time when we were putting off homework or just needed a break.

"It's cute," Baz says.

"Cute?" I repeat.

"You think Shrek is cute?" Penny grins wickedly, and I can already tell that Baz is never going to live this down.

"Uh th-that’s not quite what I meant," he tries to say, but it's too late.

"Sure it's not," Penny says with a laugh. "I mean, I guess he's cute if you like green skin and poor hygiene." She laughs even harder, and I can't help but join in. It's contagious.

Dev and Niall walk up a moment later looking at the three of us curiously.

"What's so funny?" Niall asks.

"Nothing," Baz snaps before either Penny or I can say anything. "I'm going to use the restroom. I'll be right back."

“Wow, braving the porta potty?” Dev says, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

Baz just shrugs, glancing at me briefly before he turns away. I can't quite read his expression, but it seems like he wants to say something to me.

I wait a moment before excusing myself to the restroom as well.

I watch which one Baz goes into, and before he can lock it, I step in after him.

“What the—? Snow, what are you doing in here?”

“You told me to follow you.”

“No, I didn’t! There's no room in here." He tries to shift away from me but there’s nowhere for him to go.

“Yeah, you did. Well, not aloud because our friends were there, but you told me to with your eyes.”

“With my eyes? Snow, I didn’t say anything with my eyes. I just really needed to piss.”

“Oh....” I shrug and look down at our feet. “I’m sorry. I-I guess I just misread the situation.”

“You think?”

“I guess I probably misread this whole night, too?” I ask, starting to feel really bad.

_Did I make all of this up in my head?_

“Wait, misread it how?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. I thought this was kind of a date. I thought you were flirting with me or something. I know how much you hate these rides, but you kept going on them with me, even when no one else would. I guess I just thought….” I trail off, shaking my head. “Sorry. I guess I was wrong.”

I turn to leave, but before I can even unlock the door, I feel his hand on my wrist, pulling me back around to face him.

"What—?" I begin but then he presses his lips to mine, effectively shutting me up.

My whole body seems to relax as we kiss. I’m practically melting into him as he wraps an arm around my waist to pull me closer.

I cannot believe that we're having our first kiss in a porta potty.

We kiss for a long moment before he releases me.

“You weren’t wrong,” he murmurs, the corner of his mouth twitching into an almost smile.

“Okay.” I’m smiling stupidly, but I don’t care. I’m happy.

“Now, could you give me some privacy? I really do need to piss.”

“Right." I say, my face warming. “Sorry.”

“Stop apologizing. It really is okay.”

"Okay." I smile and step out. 

Someone steps up to use the one I’ve just left, and I feel my face heat up even more as I say, “Sorry, still occupied.”

The guy raises his eyebrows at me, and I hurry away, back to where Penny and the others are waiting.


	2. Chapter 2

_One year later_

**Simon**

Being back here at this fair is like being reminded of all of the things that I no longer have. Why did Penny bring me here?

“Why are we here again?” I ask her as we step through the entrance.

“You had so much fun last year that I thought it might be fun to do this again.”

“Things were different last year.”

Last year, I was happy and hopeful.

This year, I feel completely hopeless and like everything is falling apart.

Baz and I haven’t spoken in weeks, and it feels weird to be here without him. I don’t know what’s going on between us, but it feels like there might not be an ‘us’ for much longer.

“I don’t feel like going on any of the rides.”

“Then don’t. Fill up on all the junk food you can eat while I play the games. I’m hoping to win a Fiona plush to go with my Shrek from last year.”

I want to argue, to tell her that I just want to go home and mope some more, but I know she won’t have any of it, so I just nod and follow her to one of the concession stands. I order several different fried foods and a large lemonade. I don’t plan on going on the rides, so I can fill up on all the sickening things I want and not worry about throwing up.

I follow Penny around to all the different games, not really paying attention as she plays them, but I can tell each time she loses because she groans before determinedly saying, “Again" and slamming down another dollar on the counter.

I know that she knows these games are rigged, but she seems to be having fun, so I just let her continue. 

I finish all of my food before turning to look for a trash can. I see one a few booths down and tell Penny that I’ll be right back.

“I’ll be here,” she replies. “I’m going to win us a fish for our apartment.”

I smile at how sure she sounds as I walk towards the trash can. I don’t think that a fish would be the best idea. I’ve never had a pet before, but I am certain that I would not be very good at keeping one alive. It would definitely have to be Penny’s responsibility. If it were up to me, the fish would be dead before we even got it home.

I toss my food wrappers and turn to head back when I run smack into someone.

“Sorry,” I murmur, looking up at whoever I just ran into.

I freeze.

_Baz_.

“What are you doing here?” We say it in unison, and I start to feel sick. Maybe all that food wasn’t such a good idea after all.

“Baz,” I whisper, too stunned to say anything else.

It has been a couple of weeks since the last time I saw him. Since that day… That day when we… I don’t even want to think about it.

“What are you doing here?” I ask again.

“Dev and Niall dragged me here. What about you?”

“Penny,” I say, nodding behind him in the direction of where I left her. “She said some fresh air would be good for me.”

“Right.” He nods once, and then we stand there awkwardly, not really looking at each other.

I feel like I should say something, but then I think that that’s stupid. _He_ should be the one to say something. It’s his fault that things are like this between us. If he had just…

I shake my head. I’m not doing this right now.

“Goodbye, Baz,” I say quickly before stepping around him and all but marching over to where Penny is now standing in front of a new booth, trying to toss a ring around some bottles.

“I just saw Baz.”

“Who?”

“I know you heard me, and I know you know who Baz is.” I narrow my eyes at her suspiciously. “What did you do?”

“I quit the game. I was never going to win a fish. It would be cheaper to just go buy one.”

“That’s not what I mean. Why is Baz here?”

She shrugs and tosses another ring, managing to loop it around the front bottle. “I don’t know. It’s a fair, Simon. He probably came to ride the rides and have some fun. Just like us."

I stare at her for another moment before sighing. I’m probably just being paranoid. Penny wouldn’t have brought me here to see Baz. She knows what happened. She knows that he’s the last person that I want to see right now.

I step up beside her and hand the girl running the booth a dollar, and she passes me some rings.

I start throwing them at the bottles, and I nearly succeed in knocking one over. I am admittedly throwing them a little hard, but I feel strung tight with anger and tension.

“You need to relax,” Penny says.

“I know.”

I _know_ , but how am I supposed to relax when Baz is here?

All I can think about is the screaming match we had before we fell into a seemingly endless silence, staring each other down and waiting for the other to say something until he turned away and left, slamming the door behind him and leaving another deafening silence in his wake.

I should have gone after him, but I was so mad at him at the time that I only would have made things worse.

I wish that I had gone after him, but I also wish that he hadn’t left. I wish that he had stayed so that we could talk about what he said. Or what I thought he was going to say right before I screwed things up by saying all the wrong things.

But it’s too late for that now, so I’m going to try to pretend like he isn’t here so that I can have some fun.

Only, he _is_ here, and it’s like every time that I turn around he’s there: laughing with his friends, playing one of the games, standing in line for a ride. He’s everywhere, and I can’t seem to get away from him.

“Can we go home now?” I ask Penny once I've grown bored and have eaten at least one of every food item that is being offered here. 

I'm starting to think that that may have been a mistake. This is not going to be a pleasant ride home. I get car sick enough without a stomach full of junk food.

“Not yet. I just saw a booth with a Fiona plush. We can’t leave until I win it.”

“Fine,” I groan. “I’m going to go to the restroom. That second lemonade was a little too much for my bladder.”

“Oh, could you look for my ring? I took it off when I went earlier, and I think I accidentally set it down and left it.”

I nod and take off in the direction of the porta potties, trying to act like I’m not looking for him. I’m surprised when I manage to walk the whole way without seeing him. He has been everywhere that I have turned this whole time, so it’s almost strange not to see him.

Maybe he went home.

I should be happy about that, not disappointed, right? Then why do I feel my heart sink?

I didn’t want to see him when he was here, and now that he’s gone, I wish that he was here, even if it was just so he could glare at me.

I have to wait a minute to get into the porta potty that Penny was in earlier. When it's finally vacant, I look around and immediately spot her purple ring on top of the container of hand sanitizer. I would suggest that she just burn the thing if I didn’t know that it was a family heirloom, passed down through generations. I pocket it, and as I go to close the door behind me, I feel someone else pulling against it.

“What the—?”

Something—or rather some _one_ —plows into me, and I’m shoved into the corner, almost falling onto the toilet.

“Baz?!” I ask, immediately noticing his familiar hair, once again slicked away from his face. I can still remember the way that it feels as my fingers slide through it, and I have to shake my head to clear the memory. “What are you doing in here?”

The door is forced shut behind him, and a moment later, I hear Penny’s voice.

“I’m locking you both in there until you can figure out whatever is going on between the two of you. I’m tired of all the moping and wistful gazes. Talk it through. Communicate for once!”

“Wait,” I call. “I have your ring!”

“Yeah, right. I’ll be back after I win a Fiona plush.”

I try to open the door, but she must have jammed it somehow. I bang on it twice before giving up with a sigh. We’re stuck in here until Penny decides to let us out.

It stinks in here. _Did it smell this bad last time?_ I can’t remember. All I remember about that was wanting to kiss Baz.

Now, all I want is to get out of here. I do not want to talk to Baz. I can’t bear for this to officially end, especially not in the place where it all began.

Neither of us says anything as we stand there awkwardly. I can’t even look at him, so I look around the walls of the small space that we’re in. Someone has covered them in Shrek stickers.

Who would do that? Who would _want_ to do that? I can’t even stand being in here for a couple of minutes, let alone the amount of time that it would have taken to place all of these stickers.

Still, looking at them is better than the alternative: facing Baz and having to talk to him about what’s going on.

The silence between us grows and stretches until it feels like it’s suffocating me, and the only way to catch a breath is by saying something.

There is only one thing for me to say.

“Baz,” I start, and it comes out as a whisper. I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know how to break up with someone I love.

I never even got the chance to tell him how I feel. I wanted to. There were so many moments when I almost did, but none of them felt right. Then, that day came, and there were no more opportunities. It all fell away.

I can’t even figure out why it turned into a fight that day. We were just hanging out, then it felt like he started insulting me out of nowhere about the state of my room, telling me that he couldn’t stand to be in there anymore.

“I don’t think that is going to work,” I say finally.

“Wait, turn around, would you? If we’re going to have this conversation, in a _porta potty_ of all places, I would like to at least be able to see your face.”

I turn slowly to face him. He looks uncomfortable and cramped with arms crossed over his chest as he tries not to bump up against me, which is difficult in such a small space.

I can’t meet his eyes. I know that when I look up, I’ll see the end of all of this in his eyes. I can’t bear to see it yet. I need to hear him say that this is over.

“Simon,” he says softly, and I can’t help it. I look up because I’m weak. I will always be weak for him.

He’s so beautiful, even here. It’s hard to look at him sometimes, especially now when I’m not sure how much longer I will be allowed to do this, to look at him so openly.

“Just say that’s over,” I mumble. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Is that what you want? To break up?”

“No.” Of course not, but it’s what he wants, right? To get away from me and my mess of a life.

“Then can we talk about this for a moment?”

I nod. Fine. We are stuck here together, after all.

“What went wrong that day at your apartment?” Baz asks. “I thought things were going well, then you started yelling.”

“You were insulting me. How else was I supposed to react? Was I supposed to do a song and dance and thank you for being mean to me?”

“I wasn’t trying to be mean. I wanted you to move in with me.”

I freeze at his words. “What?”

_Move in_ _with him_? He never said anything of the sort. I know I don’t always understand what people mean, but I’m certain that he didn’t say anything like that.

“I told you that I was getting my own place, and I was going to ask you to come look at apartments with me so that we could find a place that suits both of us.”

“You told me that my place was a disaster and that you couldn’t stand to spend so many nights there. All you did was insult me. How was I supposed to take that?”

“I know that I didn’t quite go about it the right way, but I was trying to make finding a new place seem appealing,” he explains.

“By making me feel bad about my own space?” I ask, trying not to raise my voice too much.

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I know you didn’t, but it still hurt. That is the one place that I have been able to call my own, and you spent several minutes verbally tearing it apart. It made me feel like shit.”

Baz sighs. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I love all of your stuff, and I’m not just saying that,” he adds when I start to protest. “I love all of the little things that you’ve collected. Those little animal figurines that you have sitting in a box? I want to get you a shelf so that you can proudly display them in the open. All of those graphic novels that you have hidden under your bed because you think I will ridicule you for them because they have pictures? I want to build you a shelf for them and read them with you so that I can see the kinds of books that you enjoy. And the—.”

“Okay, I get it,” I say, cutting him off. I can feel a smile building on my face as I say, “You like my stuff.”

“I’m sorry for what I said. I want to try to make things right with you. You don’t have to move in with me if you don’t want to, but I don’t want us to break up.”

“I would love to go apartment hunting with you, if you’ll still let me.”

“Of course I will. Because I…. I love you, Simon.”

_He loves me?_

He’s never said it before. Neither of us have. I always hoped, but I was never too sure.

“I love you,” he repeats, softer this time. “I have loved you for so long, and these past two weeks when we were fighting have been so hard.”

As he talks, his eyes roam around until they land on the floor. He won’t look at me anymore.

“You love me?” I ask, my voice shaking.

He nods slowly, almost like he’s ashamed to admit it. Or like he’s worried about my response.

Well, he shouldn’t be worried. I have loved him for a while now. I just never thought that I would get to hear him say it back.

Baz turns away from and jiggles the handle, trying to get the door open again, but it doesn’t budge. He groans and closes his eyes.

“Baz,” I whisper, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. He still won’t look at me, so I take a deep breath and try again. “Baz, I-I love you, too.”

His eyes are wide as he jerks his head up to look at me.

“I love you,” I say again.

He starts to lean towards me, and I reach up to put a hand at the back of his neck, tangling my fingers in his hair.

I let him take the lead and kiss me first. Sometimes, it feels like I’m always the one initiating things, and I start to get lost in it all. If he starts it, then It might be nice to let him have control this time.

He pulls me against him as he leans back against the wall, and I allow myself to lean into his touch, letting him take the lead, take whatever he wants from me.

_I would give him the world if that’s what he wanted._

Baz and I pull away to look at each other, panicking as we both realize what’s about to happen.

The porta potty tips over, and it’s filled with shouts as we go tumbling downhill. Baz curses, and I hear people shouting outside. We roll over several times before we crash to a stop, the door popping open above us as the porta potty finally settles.

I groan, not feeling any pain, but definitely feeling something squishy beneath my feet - and in my shoes and jeans. I try really hard not to think too much about it.

It takes Baz and me a moment to get reoriented enough to climb out, and when we’re both safely outside of the runaway porta potty, I catch sight of Penny running towards us, with a worried look on her face and a Princess Fiona plush in one hand.

“Oh my god. What happened?” She asks.

“The thing fell over,” I tell her. I reach into my pocket and grab her ring. “Here.”

She looks a little guilty as she takes it from me.

I look around us and think that it’s a good thing that we rolled away from the fair, but I’m not so sure rolling towards the street was a great alternative as cars race by barely a foot away from us.

I take a few steps away from the street and say, “Let’s just go.”

“You are not getting into my car like that,” Penny says.

“This is your fault! If you hadn’t locked us in there, I wouldn’t be covered in…” I shiver, unable to even say aloud what exactly it is that I must be covered in. All sorts of things. _Such disgusting things._

“You can ride with me,” Baz offers. “I’ll have to burn my car after tonight anyway. Having you there won’t make anything worse.”

_Is that some kind of weird compliment?_ I wonder. Is that his way of saying that he likes me around?

I’m probably reading too much into it, but I smile at him all the same, taking his hand as we begin to walk towards his car.

“I love you,” I whisper as we put some space in between us and Penny, the words rolling easily off my tongue like I’ve been saying this for a long time.

He squeezes my hand and smiles at me.

“I love you, too, Simon.”

As we make our way to the makeshift parking lot in the field behind the fairgrounds, I see a Shrek sticker stuck to the sleeve of Baz’s shirt. I reach to pull it off, and smiling to myself, I tuck it into my pocket for safekeeping.

I may need this one day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Simon**

It has been almost four years since the day that Baz and I first kissed. A lot has happened since then, and there have been quite a few ups and downs, but through our continued love and desire to be together and a strengthening of our communication, we are still together and happy.

And I’m ready to take the next step in our relationship.

I pace back and forth nervously as I wait for Baz to arrive, my hand brushing repeatedly over the ring box in my pocket. Penny said that she would handle this, but Baz was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago. It isn’t like him to be late, so something must have gone wrong with Penny’s part of the plan.

I’m just about to run inside and grab my phone to call her when I see Baz’s car come racing into the parking lot. He parks haphazardly before rushing out of the car and over to me.

“Hey, what’s going on? Are you alright? Penny said that there was an emergency, but she wouldn’t tell me what was going on.”

He’s speaking really quickly and looking me all up and down, checking for some kind of injury or reason for Penny to send him home in such a rush. I can only imagine what she must have told him to get him here in this state.

“There’s nothing wrong. I’m fine.”

“But Penny said—.”

“I know, but I just needed to get you here at the right time. I didn’t think she would worry you.”

“If you aren’t injured in any way, then why did you need me here so quickly?”

“Umm…” I begin. “Actually, would you mind getting into this porta potty first?”

“I would mind, yes,” he says, wrinkling his nose and crossing his arms over his chest. “I thought we agreed: no more rendezvous in porta potties.”

“I know, but just one more time?”

“Why do you want me to go into a random porta potty in front of our apartment? And what is it even doing here? It’s practically blocking our door. I’m going to go talk to someone about this.”

He starts to turn away from me, and I have to quickly grab his arm before he can get too far.

“Wait. Would you just please get in the porta potty?”

“Why? Are you and Bunce playing some kind of weird game again?” He asks with a sigh. “First, she kept me out all day, and then she says that you have some weird emergency and that I need to get home as soon as possible. And then I rush home to find that you are completely fine but want me to get into a porta potty. What the fuck is going on?”

“Look, I promise that I’ll explain, but I need you to get inside first. Please?”

He sighs, looking physically pained as he opens the door. He steps inside and turns toward me with a questioning look, but before he can say anything, I step in with him and close the door behind me.

“Simon, what are you doing? Why are you locking us in here? Is this some kind of weird fantasy of yours? Because if so, I’m afraid that I am going to have to object. I will not do anything in a dirty porta potty.”

I start to say something about how that isn’t what he said last time—in fact, I’m pretty sure that he was the one encouraging it—but I didn’t come in here to argue with him.

(We don’t talk about what happened last year. It managed to beat out the humiliation of rolling down a hill in a filthy porta potty, and Baz and I swore never to speak of it again.)

“It is not dirty. It’s brand new, never been used.”

“How can you possibly be sure of that?”

“Because I bought it, okay?”

“You... _bought_ it? Why? Simon, we’re going to need to have a serious conversation about your buying habits if this is the kind of thing that you spend your money on. I mean—”

I pull the ring box from my pocket, with not a little amount of maneuvering, and he cuts himself off mid-rant.

“What is that?”

“What does it look like?” I ask.

I consider for a moment whether I should get down on one knee for this part, but there really isn’t a whole lot of room, so that seems rather impossible. This may not have been the best place for this, but it is where I wanted to be when I proposed to him. It just feels like the right place.

I even stickered with the walls with Shrek stickers, reminiscent of that one time Penny locked us in one of these together, including the one that I saved from that day. I wanted this to be special.

“Please tell me that you are not proposing to me in a porta potty.”

“Umm…” What am I supposed to say to that when that is obviously exactly what I’m doing?

“Really? You couldn’t have taken me to a nice restaurant or the park or really, anywhere but here?”

“We’ll go to dinner in a bit, but I wanted this to be sentimental. Now, can you please stop grumbling for one minute so that I can ask you a question?”

He looks like he wants to argue some more, but he presses his lips together in a tight line and doesn’t say anything else.

“Alright,” I say, clearing my throat nervously. “Baz, you and I have had our ups and downs. We have seen our fair share of strange moments in porta potties together, probably more than any other couple, but I wanted to have just one more moment with you.” I pause for a moment to look around us, at the way that the stickers spell out the question that I want to ask him. This whole thing might be a little too much, but this is how I wanted to do it. This is the way that felt right. “I have loved every bit of being with you, and I would love to spend many more amazing moments with you, so, Baz Pitch, will you marry me?”

Baz is practically beaming at me as he responds. “Yes, Simon. I will marry you.”

I break out into a wide grin as I slide the ring onto his finger, and he shifts forward to kiss me.

“Wait,” I say, putting a hand on his chest. “Sorry, I just really don’t feel like taking another tumble in a porta potty. One time was enough for me.”

He nods. “Right. Let’s get out of here, then I’ll show you just how much I want to marry you.”

My face warms as I turn to let us out, stepping out to cheering and bits of confetti raining down around us.

Penny, Dev, and Niall are standing outside with party poppers and confetti cannons. Bits of paper and glitter shower down upon us.

“I did not plan this part,” I say to Baz.

“I did,” Penny says. “We were there for all of the other moments. It wouldn’t have been right without us here for this one, would it?”

“No, I guess not. Thank you.”

“Congratulations,” Dev says, clapping Baz on the back.

“You knew this was going to happen?”

“I knew that he was going to propose. I didn’t know anything about the porta potty until we got here.”

“Hey, the fair is in town again this weekend,” Penny says. “We should all go.”

I laugh. “Okay, but no more porta potties.”

“Or ferris wheels,” Baz adds, taking my hand in his.

“I was just thinking that I needed a Donkey plush to go with my collection. This will be great. I was unable to obtain one due to last year’s incident,” she says, looking sideways at me and Baz.

“We do not speak of that,” Baz says, and I laugh.

The five of us walk around the porta potty and into mine and Baz’s apartment.

“I love you, darling,” Baz says, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Our love is no longer something we are afraid to admit to, and we are proud to let others know about it. It really is nice to share all of this with some of our closest friends.

We may not have all stuck together after high school, scattered around at different colleges, but we always come back together to enjoy the little moments—or big ones in today’s case.

We all just graduated from college, and after this summer, there is no telling where all of us might end up. I hope that we’ll always be friends, no matter how much space there is between us, but I know that things will change.

Dev and Niall will stick together. They’re finally moving in together, and they seem like one of those couples that will last forever. The one you never expected to get together, but when they finally did, you knew it was for life.

Penny met a guy last summer when she was doing a study abroad program, and even though she keeps denying that there is anything going on between them, I think that it’s just a matter of time before she finally admits that even though he annoys her constantly, she really likes him.

And then there’s Baz and me, coming up on our four year anniversary and newly engaged. He wants to teach, and I still haven’t quite chosen what I want to do, but I would follow him across the world. I can find a job anywhere, but I can’t find another Baz.

No matter where life takes us, I’m happy that we are all together now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! <3
> 
> Come find me on [Tumblr](https://angelsfalling16.tumblr.com/)


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